Weapon Makers See Danger in Cooperating Over Safety

By

Gary Fields

Jan. 16, 2013 7:30 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON—One of the biggest challenges facing the Obama administration as it seeks to overhaul gun laws will be winning the cooperation of the firearms industry. Gun makers see a danger in working with the government that can be summed up in one name: Smith & Wesson.

In 2000, Smith & Wesson, then a subsidiary of the U.K.'s Tomkins PLC, signed an agreement with the Clinton administration to escape potentially ruinous lawsuits over the cost of gun violence filed by municipalities and counties. Among other things,...